I was almost offered a job as a programmer for a finance company. They are very large and do lots of things, but they are best known for collecting debt. I was told that if I passed the interview, I would probably get the job. I turned them down, because I don’t want to be the one who makes it more cost effective to make poor people’s situation worse.
I would also never work for law firms that specializes in detecting piracy. When I come home at work, I would rather not have to explain that I helped ruin a 14 year old kids life.
Taking or not taking the job may certainly depend upon whether you are currently employed! With this economy, adult-IT related job is probably better than no job…
Our company used to offer managed web hosting for years, we have given up on that business about 2 years ago. I still remember the first adult page we got. It was not porn, it was an escort agency, but there were no doubts that escorting won’t necessarily end at the front door when customers get home The page was full of escort ladies in sexy clothes (some actually only wearing sexy underwear) - very high quality images, though. Everyone was so exited about it (and everyone asked our admins if they can give them a login to the private area, so they can browse through the images, no joking!). In the end, it was a customer like everyone else. Actually caused little support cases, paid their bills on time, had little feature requests - often we haven’t heard of them in months, they just kept managing their database (adding/removing ladies from it), updating their web site content and that was pretty much it.
I would not mind working for the adult industry, as long as payment and working hours are okay, no problem. Actually I know an adult page that has some job descriptions online. They need a server admin, a PHP programmer and some more people. You can work from home, flexible work time, fair payment, you may even work from abroad. Only problem is, this page has legal issues - currently nobody targets them, but they do violate copyright, that is out of question and it will be only a matter of time till they get legal issues and then their whole business model will explode and you are pretty fast without a job.
Regarding what I’d tell my parents? I’d tell them I’m working for a page selling porn. Maybe I’d not use the word porn, but other than that, why should I lie? The adult industry is a big one and always will be. It wouldn’t be that big if the demand was not as high as it is and the fact that the demand is so high tells us that people want it. Is it bad to help people getting what they want?
If you ask me if there are jobs I’d not take… there are. There are some companies I would never work for. E.g. Microsoft. Actually I couldn’t tell my friends that I work for Microsoft, no kidding, they will start acting like you described in your post. Leaving aside the discussion if Microsoft makes good software or not, if Windows is a useful operating system or not, the politics of this company (the things they do in daily business) violate my ethics, thus I cannot work for them.
It’s a personal preference. The industry a person works for should not be a factor when judging his technical merits. I personally would not accept a day job with the adult industry, but I would like to participate in a short project, just to know how different the technical challenges and solutions are.
And for acquaintances who work in the adult industry, I definitely would not treat them less than any other acquaintance.
Its funny because I’ve developed a piece of VoIP software that will allow a user to send a call to one of their friends using a celebrity recorded script. Its similar to the Snakes on a Plane and the Alec Baldwin Calls your Friends promos.
What’s funny is that the backer backed out in the project and refused to pay us after we built the thing (turns out he didn’t have the cash…whoops). His partner, who works in the entertainment industry, did some shopping around and it turned out Vivid was EXTREMELY interested in the technology.
They turned Vivid down all because it was the adult entertainment industry, and as a result we have this great technology that we didn’t get paid for.
I guess if it was me, I’d take pause and I’d be a little hesitant to name them as a client at first with new people. Not through my own personal objections (hell I thought it was awesome), but because its uncertain how the reaction, no matter how ridiculous, would be to others.
Still I think the hangups around porn are dumb, because of the Internet, instead of going to a seedy bookstore or theater, people (including couples) can watch porn in the safe, clean, and comfort of their own homes.
Eh, another thing. I’ve been reading in some comments that people wouldn’t hire someone who worked as a coder in the adult industry.
Since I’m assuming that the commenters are programmers as well, this is extremely short sighted simply because of the technical chops it takes to deliver a successful online adult service. Others have commented on the tech. details before so I won’t go into them but I just want to say this:
Joel’s rule of hiring programmers was Is Smart, Gets Things Done not Is Smart, Gets Things Done, and Hasn’t done anything involving dirty dirty smut
Once upon a time the ATT Definity switch was my bitch. I could dial four numbers at a time and use the ani’s to cache a script. Whoever picked up first would get the sales call with no 2 seconds of silence to clue them in. I would’ve worked in the porn industry in a heart beat. Nothing is dirtier or more low down than a call center. My code was absolutely making the world a more evil place.
I remember going to conventions trying to convince people that not only could a computer answer the phone, but it was the best way to do it. Now everyone has an IVR system. Evil. Squared.
I went from evil outbound calls to evil inbound IVR calls and then into 900 number service bureaus. EVIL.
I understand where that guy is coming from. More than half the fun of coding is being able to brag about what you do. When you can’t brag about what you do anymore, it’s time to find something you can believe in. Something that makes the world a little better. Even if it’s just helping people jerk off.
In my case it’s social work. Well, it’s building out SharePoint apps so the social workers can take care of the kiddos. No money at all, but I sleep well. My code may not be changing the world for the better, but it’s sure helping my little corner of it. Feels good.
Coding for coding’s sake is an empty phrase. Coding for the sake of truth, coding for the sake of the good and the beautiful that is the faith I am searching for.
I would love to work for the porn industry, there just is no test data that is more pleasant to look at. The best alternative would be a site about kittens. Please don’t ask what if you can have BOTH?, though.
Good for you Jeff. I’m proud of someone would could stick to their idea of what is right and wrong in the face of this much name calling (see above). I would never work for a company where the employees have no belief that there work is only technical and can ignore whatever the company does on that excuse. Integrity is a virtue. I find Jeff that once again I’m reevaluating my opinion of you and I’m happy.
Jeff, I’m not accusing you of hypocrisy but I strongly suspect many people would be perfectly comfortable working for a weapons maker while they wouldn’t be comfortable admitting to working in the adult industry.
How you would feel about working in an industry where making your code more reliable and more efficient could directly lead to more deaths?
How you would feel about working in an industry where making your code more reliable and more efficient could directly lead to more deaths?
Depends on who’s getting killed. Those who want to try the virgins that badly are welcome to them as quickly as possible, preferably without dragging any infidels along
Of course the virgins would be getting the short end of the stick, here…
I’d put it on my job history and I’d be better off avoiding the people who avoided me because of it. Simply because the adult industry is at the fringe of moral acceptance doesn’t make it inherently evil or unimportant, or even catering to the least common denominator.
But at the same time, I can’t help questioning the ultimate value of that work.
Well, yes. But.
I work for a contract manufacturer: we make other people’s stuff and slap their name all over it. What we make now will be obsolete in five years.
One of my grandfathers was a lineman for an electric utility. Another built roads all over Oregon and Washington. They could point to stuff and say ‘I built it’. Me, not so much.
At least if I worked for a company like that I could play with high-speed low-drag networks and stuff.
The page was full of escort ladies in sexy clothes (some actually only wearing sexy underwear) - very high quality images, though. Everyone was so exited about it (and everyone asked our admins if they can give them a login to the private area, so they can browse through the images, no joking!). In the end, it was a customer like everyone else. Actually caused little support cases, paid their bills on time, had little feature requests - often we haven’t heard of them in months, they just kept managing their database (adding/removing ladies from it), updating their web site content and that was pretty much it.